The present disclosure relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as a paper sheet.
Recording apparatuses such as facsimiles, copy machines, printers and the like are structured to record an image onto recording mediums such as paper sheets, OHP sheets and the like, and depending on recording types, can be classified into an ink-jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type and the like. Besides, the ink-jet recording type can be classified into a serial type in which a recording head scans a recording medium to perform recording and a line head type which performs recording by means of a recording head that is fixed to an apparatus main body.
An ink-jet recording apparatus of the serial type includes a recording head that ejects ink while scanning the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of the recording medium. On the other hand, an ink-jet recording apparatus of the line head type includes ink-jet heads (recording heads) of the line head type for every color in which ejecting nozzles are arranged at predetermined intervals across an entirety of a printing regional width perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium. And, by ejecting ink from an ejecting nozzle corresponding to a printing position in synchronization with conveyance of the recording medium, it is possible to perform printing on the entire recording medium.
In such ink-jet recording apparatuses, usually, a recovery process is performed in which thickened ink in the ejection nozzle is forcibly pushed out periodically from an ejecting opening of the recording head. In the recovery process, for example, the ink is forcibly pushed out (purged) from the ejecting opening of the recording head, thereafter, the purged ink on an ink ejecting surface is wiped by a wipe blade. At this time, the purged ink adheres to a tip end surface and side surface of the wipe blade. And, the wipe blade is reciprocated in a horizontal direction and thereby the ink on the wipe-blade tip end is rubbed against an ink removal plate from both left and right sides. In this method, the ink on the wipe blade can be removed to some extent.